A student who was trying to form a gun-rights group at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) in Pennsylvania was threatened with disciplinary action. Administrators banned Christine Brashier’s informational pamphlets, ordered all copies of them destroyed, and decreed that further “academic misconduct” would not be tolerated. A dean reportedly told her, “You may want to… Read more

PHILADELPHIA, June 30, 2010—Today, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is proud to release a new short film, “Empty Holsters: Gun Speech on America’s Campuses,” highlighting widespread campus censorship of student speech about guns. The film is the first in a new FIRE series focusing on how colleges and universities across America are… Read more

Yesterday afternoon, FIRE closed the book on one of its most talked-about cases as the student government of the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) in Pittsburgh finally approved a chapter of the national concealed firearms advocacy group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). The approval ends a saga that began last April when… Read more

FIRE was elated to begin the week with the announcement that The College of William & Mary had reformed the last of its troublesome speech codes and become one of just eleven colleges to earn a "green light" rating in FIRE’s Spotlight database. Perhaps the fever has spread to neighboring James Madison University, where the… Read more

As FIRE’s 10th Anniversary Celebration inches closer, FIRE is proud to unveil a newly revamped Campus Freedom Network site. We’re happy, too, to ring in October with a major victory for student rights at the Community College of Allegheny County. Torch readers, of course, were well aware of the travails of CCAC student Christine Brashier, whom CCAC attempted to intimidate into silence when she… Read more

PITTSBURGH, October 2, 2009—After months of national media attention, a student threatened with punishment for attempting to form a gun-rights group at Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is finally allowed to distribute pamphlets about the group on campus. The college has also rescinded its unconstitutional policy demanding “prior written approval” for “personal contact with… Read more

FIRE’s ongoing case at the Community College of Allegheny County is the focus of an editorial in today’s online edition of The Times Daily (Alabama). CCAC student Christine Brashier has been blocked by administrators from forming a gun-rights club on campus and was told to destroy all copies of her informational pamphlet. The editorial, while… Read more

FIRE Vice President Robert Shibley will be a guest on the Lou Dobbs radio show this afternoon starting at 4:15 p.m. ET. Robert will be discussing FIRE’s case at the Community College of Allegheny County, where student Christine Brashier has been stymied by censorship in her efforts to set up a group advocating for the… Read more

The higher education and mainstream presses were awash last week with the news of the Community College of Allegheny County’s (CCAC’s) suppression of a student’s attempt to organize a chapter of the national student association Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. CCAC stayed in the spotlight this week after offering a feeble defense of its… Read more

As Torch readers know, FIRE has spent the last week engaged in a massive media campaign to persuade the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) to recognize the right of student Christine Brashier to start a campus chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). As we explained in Tuesday’s press release, the college… Read more

PITTSBURGH, June 2, 2009—A student who wants to form a gun-rights group will still be subject to unconstitutional censorship, the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) announced yesterday. Christine Brashier, who wants to form a chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), was told through a letter to the Foundation for Individual Rights… Read more

In the last twenty-four hours, FIRE has twice updated Torch readers on the swift and far-reaching impact of its exposure of the Community College of Allegheny County’s (CCAC’s) suppression of the free speech and association rights of student Christine Brashier, who was prevented from forming a campus chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus…. Read more

As I reported yesterday, FIRE’s case at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is drawing more and more attention. This morning, Inside Higher Ed posted an article about the case as did United Press International, which featured the story in its “Top News” section. Along with the mainstream news pressure, dozens more blogs have… Read more

A student at Community College of Allegheny County said one of the school’s deans told her she was breaking the law for trying to start a chapter of an organization that supports students’ rights to carry licensed, concealed weapons on campus. According to WTAE’s news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Christine Brashier, of Squirrel… Read more

FIRE’s press release yesterday detailed our efforts to restore freedom of speech and association at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), where a student attempting to launch a chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus was blocked by college administrators. They told her that she could not even try to start her club… Read more

Today we report on a college that has egregiously kicked the First Amendment in the teeth. Student Christine Brashier just wants to form a gun-rights group at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), but she has been censored and threatened with disciplinary action for her efforts. FIRE took up her case as soon as… Read more

PITTSBURGH, May 27, 2009—A student who wants to form a gun-rights group at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) has been threatened with disciplinary action for her efforts. Student Christine Brashier has turned to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help after reporting that administrators banned her informational pamphlets, ordered her… Read more